Pedro Sanchez was forced to make an unscheduled landing in Turkey after a technical issue affected the government’s official aircraft en route to Armenia.
The Airbus A310, carrying the Spanish PM and his delegation, had departed from Torrejon de Ardoz airbase near Madrid shortly before 4pm, heading to Yerevan for a summit of the European Political Community.
However, a technical fault – described by government sources as minor – triggered standard safety protocol, forcing the aircraft to divert and land in Ankara.
Sanchez was expected to spend the night in the Turkish capital before resuming his journey to Armenia early on Monday.
His arrival in Yerevan was scheduled for 8.15am Spanish time, where nearly 50 European leaders are due to gather for the summit.
The European Political Community brings together EU member states and other European countries outside the bloc to discuss key geopolitical and economic issues.
Despite the delay, Sanchez is still expected to attend the meeting and return to Madrid later the same day.
It is not the first time a technical issue has disrupted the prime minister’s travel plans.
In September last year, the Falcon jet he was using to travel to Paris was forced to turn back mid-flight due to a fault, leading him to attend the meeting remotely instead.
